Resident escapes as fire destroys Kalihi home

Honolulu firefighters responded to a two-alarm fire that destroyed a home in Kalihi today.

Shortly before 11 a.m., firefighters responded to the fire at 1574A Machado St. When they arrived, they observed smoke and flames emerging from the doors and windows of the two-bedroom home, according to Honolulu Fire Capt. Spokesman David Jenkins in a news release.

A man in his mid-30s was inside the home at the time of the fire but escaped. Jenkins said. The resident was alerted to the blaze after hearing crackling sounds.

Richard Zamora, who lives in a home adjacent to the destroyed house, said the resident is his nephew. “He’s shaken up,” Zamora said, noting he had some minor burns. “He could’ve got really burned badly.”

“I’m just glad nobody got hurt,” Zamora said.

Thirty-eight firefighters brought the fire under control at 11:15 a.m. and extinguished it at 11:53 a.m. Jenkins said the home is considered “a total loss.”

Though the fire department is investigating the cause, Zamora said he believes the fire was caused by an unattended lit candle.

He said his nephew lit a candle in his bedroom last night. He later went to the living room where he fell asleep.

Zamora rushed home from work at the Navy Exchange at Pearl Harbor after he received a call that there was a fire at one of the three homes on their property.

Resident Rosemarie Agmata who lives across the house immediately called 911 when she saw black smoke billowing from the roof while she was carrying trash to the front curb. “I was so scared by the fire,” she said. “The fire was getting worse and worse.”

Damage is estimated at $225,000, according to the fire department.